US indices finished yesterday’s session lower. S&P 500 dropped 1.13%, Dow Jones moved 1.01% lower while Nasdaq fell 0.95%. Russell 2000 plunged 1.36%.
Moreover, indices from Asia-Pacific also traded lower today. Nikkei fell 1.25%, S&P/ASX 200 lost 1.6% while Kospi dropped 0.90%. Indices from China traded lower an in Europe, DAX futures point to a slightly higher opening of the European cash session.

Key points:

• JP Morgan expects tat FED will raise interest rates by 75bp today, target rate of 4.25% by Feb23

• Asian Development Bank lowered China growth outlook for 2022 to 3.5% from 5.0% estimate in April

• Chinese authorities implement a lockdown in Tangshan city, which is a major steel producer.

• RBA Deputy Governor Michelle Bullock said central will report a substantial loss in its 2021/22 annual account and be in negative equity for the period due to its massive bond-buying program. She also mentioned that policy rate level is not yet restrictive

• Reuters’ latest poll shows that economists do not think that Japan will intervene to stem the decline in the yen

• API survey showed 1,035 million barrels build, below market expectations of a 2.321-million-barrel increase

• Putin declares partial military mobilisation to bolster Ukraine war effort, while German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Putin needs to recognize that he can’t win the war, according to a report from Reuters.

• Cryptocurrencies are trading higher today. Bitcoin rose 1.4% and Ethereum jumped 2.6%

• Oil prices rose 0.30%. WTI trades near $84.20 per barrel while Brent is testing $90.90 mark

• Slightly upbeat moods prevail on the precious metals market. Gold trades 0.10% higher and silver gains 0.60%

• USD and CAD are the best performing major currencies while AUD and JPY lag the most

• Dollar strengthens ahead of Fed decision